The Rotation is Set

Some people may have been surprised when Terry Francona announced the 2011 Red Sox starting rotation. I case you missed it: Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, and the corpse of Dice-K. (AKA Daisuke Matsuzaka). Some were surprised that Beckett was dropped into the 4 spot. Frankly, it really doesn’t matter. Hopefully, Beckett and Lackey and be effective and make solid contributions every 5^th day.( I don’t expect any Cy Young type performances) I don’t think Dice-K will last the year. He may turn into an innings eater in the bullpen or just fake an “injury” all season. Either way you will definitely see Tim Wakefield and Alfredo Aceves make a more to be the 5^th starter.

Though the Sox haven’t been playing great lately, everything in Florida seems to have gone well. There haven’t been any major injuries and Adrian Gonzalez should be fit for opening day. (He will also be signed, sealed , and delivered with a fat contract extension.) Questions still remain in the bullpen, but I think Francona will sort out each pitcher’s role by June. Jonathan Papelbon has struggled, but if he wants to get paid next year (the Red Sox have all but said they will let him walk after 2011) he will have to perform. There is also the added incentive that Daniel Bard and Bobby Jenks are breathing down his neck for the closer job. The offensive should carry the team (I mean JD Drew is batting 7^th) and hopefully the pitching will be good enough to get them to the World Series, if not everyone will call all of Theo’s moves a failure. So without further ado, Play Ball!

Baseball is Back!

Yesterday we got our first taste of baseball since last November, and boy was it awesome. Some people ignore Spring Training and will only tune in once the real season starts, but to for me those games in February and March are what keep me going through the clean up from another wet and nasty winter thaw.

The Yankees fell to the Phillies 5-4 yesterday in a game that didn't see a ton of runs until the later innings. Early on the Yankee pitchers seemed solid. Joba Chamberlain threw a crisp clean inning where he displayed slightly new mechanics. Joba now starts his hands closer to his waist which gets his hands over the rubber sooner. The adjustment seemed to really change his approach and hopefully it leads to more consistent appearances throughout the season.

The young righty was plagued by massive late-inning blow ups during the first half of regular season last year, leading to a bloated ERA. If Joba can be what he was as a reliever in early 2008 or even the second half last season when he posted an ERA of 2.88 and a BB/K ratio of 4.63 then the Yankee bullpen has the potential to be a force of nature.

The other pitcher I was impressed with was Bartolo Colon. Crazy right? I should say I wasn't impressed so much as I was surprised his shins didn't give out under his ample frame. Also that he was able to touch the mid-90s with his fast ball in his second inning of work. That's really all Colon ever had, a power fastball, an average slider and an average change up. But if the Yankees can get 10 starts out of him, with him pitching to roughly his career numbers, then Brian Cashman's gamble will have reaped a decent reward.

The position players all did ok, A-Rod hit the ball with authority, everyone got excited because Mark Teixeira got a hit before May. Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson looked like they need a couple dozen more at bats before they will find their strokes, and honestly, Derek Jeter's 2011 swing didn't look a whole lot better than last year's version. Time will tell on that and I'm going to hold out hope that he can at least have a mild rebound from last year.

Today's game will give us a taste of the prospects. Ivan Nova will start for New York, and he will be throwing to the #3 prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America: Jesus Montero. I was robbed of the chance to see him pitch when he was at Trenton back in 2009 and broke his wrist a week before the Thunder rolled through my backyard to play the New Britain Rock Cats.

Everyone will be critiquing his receiving skills, and I will be paying attention to that as well, but I can't wait to see him swing the stick. It should be fun to watch. BA's #43 prospect Dellin Betances will also be taking the mound today. He is one massive individual with a big fastball and a hammer curve. It should be fun.